AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His eyes remained fixed on the single piece of paper. He took in a deep breath and I could feel his anguish through the bond—my worry only worsened.
“Helerie is gone. The Glaev took it.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Kya
Helerie was the third largest city in Oryn. Thousands of citizens had resided there when the Glaev hit. It spread from the center, voraciously consuming life after life until it reached just past the last remnants of the settlements. Males, females, and children, all lost within minutes. A few dozen had barely escaped with their lives and fled to nearby towns for help. But there was no one else left to save in the city. There was no city. Not anymore. Not according to the report that Ryker and I were bent over.
We had opted to eat in his study so that we could go over the reports while he later coordinated operations with his chiefs. I remained in the corner, seated at a small table with my legs folded underneath me, keeping to myself and staying out of the way as Ryker’s study became a bustling of people coming and going. Tuning out the roar of the chaos, I concentrated on the reports as they came in, looking for any mentions of the origination point for the Glaev and its exact path, while simultaneously creating a timeline map to break it down for better reference.
Well into the early morning hours, the throngs of people began to dwindle until it was just Ryker, Mavris, and Hakoastanding around his desk and discussing something. I wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying, too concentrated on pouring over the recounts of the attack from the remaining survivors. When I finished, I stared at the parchment before me for a long while, astonished at the map I drew.
“Hi.” Ryker’s voice brought me out of my thoughts. He crouched down next to me, cupping my face and rubbing his calloused thumb over my cheek. His eyes were heavy from exhaustion.
“Hi back.” I offered a smile and he returned it.
Mavris and Hakoa were excusing themselves, leaving and closing the double doors behind them.
“I think we’ve done all that we can do for now tonight. We’ll meet again in the morning to assess further.” He gestured to my makeshift map. “How’s that going? Learn anything useful?”
I turned my head back to my drawing. “Only that I know for certain that the Glaev is controlled by someone. Someone who calculated the highest population points and attacked in three strategic areas to inflict the highest damage possible.” I sighed. “But I do think I found out something else as well.”
I pulled over another page. This was an actual map, marked with the areas over Oryn that had been attacked by the Glaev since the Trial, along with the dates. Pulling out the notes from the book, I laid it all out in front of us.
“Even without understanding most of Rolim’s notes, I think his theory was correct on it being magic. Here he listed out numbers, I think it’s some sort of measurement of the Glaev.”
“Like its…intensity or damage or something?” He pulled a chair over and sat next to me, resting his hand on my back as we both leaned over the table.
“Your guess is as good as mine. But here’s what I do think I understand: he listed them all in a timeline, just like I didover here for the attacks on Oryn and one thing in particular correlates.”
“And what is that?” he asked.
“The longer the spans between attacks, the larger the affected areas are and vise versa, the shorter the time between them, the smaller they are.” I turned my head to look at him.
“Power,” he said after a moment before those silver eyes met mine. “Rolim’s numbers are power. If Vicria is honing this dark magic, she may only be able to use so much at a time until it needs to be restored. Probably similar to that of our own magic reserves. Maybe that’s why there are smaller attacks. The dark magic hasn’t had enough time to replenish from the previous one.”
My mouth fell open in astonishment. Listening to his deductions about my findings was one of the sexiest things I had ever heard, and if it wasn’t for the impending doom that hung over us, I would have had him claim me right there.
He smirked and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “You haven’t even scratched the surface of what I’m capable of.”
My mouth snapped shut, and I reared my head back. “Did you just listen to my thoughts?”
“I told you I can’t always help it, especially with you and that beautiful mind of yours,” he chuckled.
“Once we are fully bonded, you will be able to freely speak into my mind as well. Just as you are able to do with Odarum,”he said into my head.
“How do you know that? I’ve never heard of that before,”I thought, knowing he was listening.
He held my hand in his. “It’s not known to anyone other than mates. My parents were mates and my father told me.”
“If it’s known only to mates, then why did your father tell you?”
“He only disclosed it to me after I had told him ofmymate.” He smiled.
“Hold on, why is it that I’ve met your brother but not your parents?” I asked.
Ryker’s shoulders dropped slightly, and his smile was tight.
